Fish stringer



Attorney Patented Sept. 30, 1952 7 Louis M. Butler, SaukCe reI l /I H,Application March 17, 1950, Serial No 50473 This invention relatesto .anovel Construction of fish stringer which may be readily attached to aseat or brace member of a boat for holding a plurality of fish and whichis so constructed that fish maybe applied thereto without detaching thestringer from the boat. i

1 Claim. (01., "2

Another object of the invention is to provide for removing the fish fromthe end of the stringer remote to the bar or needle.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the folowing description of the drawing,illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the fish stringerattached to a part of a boat;

Figure 2 is an edge elevational view on an enlarged scale of the bar orneedle, looking from right to left of Figure l, and I Figure 3 is anenlarged fragmentary view looking toward the opposite edge of the outerend of the needle.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the fish stringer in itsentirety is designated generally 5 and includes an elongated,longitudinally tapered bar. designated generally 6 which is preferablyoval shaped in cross section and which is provided with a pointed end 1.Adjacent the pointed end 1, one longitudinal edge of the bar 6 isprovided with a fishhook disgorging notch 8. Adjacent the opposite endor widerv end of the bar 6, said bar is provided with a relatively largenotch 9 which is substantially hook-shaped and which opens outwardly ofthe edge thereof, opposite the edge in which the notch 8 is formed andin a direction away from the pointed end I. The hookshaped notch 9 formsa bill portion 10 which extends away from the pointed end 1. Beyond thenotch 9 and in the end of the bar 6, remote to the pointed end 1, saidbar 6 is provided with a recess II in which is anchored one end of leafspring I 2 which extends therefrom into the recess or notch 9 and thefree end of which engages under or against the inner side of the bill Hito combine therewith and with the notch lz 9 to form a snap hook,designated genera1ly'l3.. The terminal of ,the bar'6, remote to'the'pointed end: lui'sixiprovide'd with an'eye 14 to receive a smallsplitring l5-to which. one end of a con- I ventional swivel "l6 visdetachably connected.

. -Angelongated'flexible member such as a cord or lthincable I 'I'hasone end l8 thereof tied to the opposite end of the swivel lfi and itsopposite end l9 tied to one end'of another con- .ventional'swivel 20.The flexible member I? may be-oflany desired length, as for example fivefeet. The opposite end of the swivel is detachably secured to a smallsplit ring 2| which v I is illustrated in Figure 1 as comprising twonormally abutting convolutions and with the ends of the ring 2| spacedfrom one another, so that the swivel 20 may be readily detached from;the ring 2|; in a conventional manner. One end of a short length ofchain 22 is likewise detachably connected to the ring 2| and isdetachably connected at its opposite end to a split ring 23. The rings[5 and 23 are of the same con- I struction as the ring 2|. Aconventional swivel 24 has one 'end' thereof detachably connected to thering 23.

A larger'split ring 25, of the same construction as the ring 2|, has twosnap hooks 26 and 21 detachably connected thereto, each of said snaphooks having a swivelly mounted ring or eye 28 which detachably engagesthe ring 25.

From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that by eitherdisengaging the snap hook 21 from the swivel or the snap hook 26 fromthe ring 2!, that the chain 22 may be positioned around a part of. aboat as for example a bracing strip or bar 29 of a rowboat which forms apart of the gunwale and which is supported in spaced relationship to andon the inner side of a side 30 of the boat and by a longitudinallyspaced spacingblock 3!. The disconnected snap hook is then reconnectedto either the ring 2| or swivel 24 for securing the fish stringer 5detachably to the member 29 and with the ring 25-on the inner side ofsaid member 29, as illustrated in Figure .1. When a fish is caught it isapplied to the stringeri bypassing the bar 6, which forms the stringerneedle, through the gill and mouth of the fish with the pointed end 1 asthe leading end thereof and the ring l5 and swivel I6 are likewise drawnthrough the gill and mouth to position the fish, not shown, on theflexible member IT. The snap hook I3 is then detachably engaged with thering 25 and the flexible strand I1 is then thrown outboard of the boatside 30 to support the fish in the water. It will be readily apparentthat additional fish may be hook 21.

, attached to the stringer strand l! by disconnectring 25. When it isdesiredto removethe fish,

from the stringer 5, it is not necessary to pass the fish back over thestringer needle B as 'the snap hook 26 may then be disconnected from thering 2| and the fish then removed ov'er'the swivel 20, ring 2|, chain22, ring 23,=and-. ofi of the swivel 24 which is disconnected from thesnap The notch 8 may be engaged with a fishhook for disgorging it fromthe mouth or other interiorpartof affisli. 1,4 1,

A chain :of the proper 1 length, zs-imi'l'arzin conthe :fiexible member:3-! 7::Jand varicusz1other modifications and clrangesyare rcontemplatedi andr'may obviously be resortedato, withontidepartingjrom thespiritv or scope of the'invention as;v hereinafter defined by theappendedtclaim. 1

Iclaimasmy' invention: 5- v i i. A;fish.s tringer comprising. ananchoringzm'eans engaging fiexiblemember, a fish en agi -flexi member, asplit ringand swivel detach'ably com necting adjacent ends of saidfiexible members, a split ring and swivel connected to the oppo site endof the first mentioned flexible member, a ring having a pair of snaphooks connected thereto, one of said snap hooks being detachablyconnected to theswivel of the-last mentioned ring and swivel and theother of said snap hooks being .detachably connected to thetring of thefirst, mention'e ring andfstvivel'. for netachably securingthefirstmentioned flexible member to ,an anchoring means, a tapered bar forminga stringer needle connected to the opposite end of Ith'e'zfis'h engagingflexible member, and said bar being ,provided with a snap hookdetachably engaging the last mentioned ring.

LOUIS M. BUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of.reoord inlthe 2,567,775Loree Sept. 11,1951

